The background here is that before the rollout of the Affordable Care Act there were a lot of people eligible for Medicaid who simply didn't know it. This "take-up rate" -- wonk-speak for the percentage of people eligible for the program who sign up for it -- varies widely from state to state, with some states as low as 36 percent and others as high as 81 percent.
The publicity around the new health-care law has led a lot of those people to inquire about whether they're eligible for health insurance -- and they're finding out that they are. The clearest example of this is in the red states that aren't participating in the law's Medicaid expansion: There, 91,000 people have tried to sign up for health insurance and learned, in the process, that they are already eligible for Medicaid coverage.
The effect is also present in the blue states. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that of the 70,000 people who've enrolled in Medicaid in Washington State, 30,000 were eligible before the new law took effect -- they just didn't know it.
You know one has to imagine that with this population of individuals having so little difficulty accessing a program that meets their health care needs, that those who DON'T qualify for Medicaid might start really resenting how complicated the insurance companies make buying insurance and start demanding the option of single payer.
And it appears that President Obama may have helped to promote that idea with his speech on Thursday. This read from the Daily Kos:
The insurance companies are now upset. When they cancelled policies they did so with an up-sell of more expensive policies as opposed to encouraging folks to go to the Obamacare exchanges. In doing so they created a political firestorm instigated by Republicans. Now the insurance companies are complaining about the fix disrupting the insurance markets.
Purists believe the Obamacare fix is about to create a big mess. This is partly true. This mess is politically necessary to expose insurance companies and Republicans. It will illustrate realities versus perceived hypotheticals.
The insurance companies attempted to circumvent the Obamacare exchanges and got bit. Their threats of future higher premiums should be ignored. If they do not work towards assisting in getting a sustainable pool that can be insured at affordable rates, Americans will demand a public option which will likely evolve into a single payer.
The game is called chess Republicans.
You better learn it.
I think the single-payer option will eventually come about much like it did in Canada -- province/state by province/state. It started in Saskatchewan, then came to Alberta, and then eventually the rest of the provinces picked it up.
ReplyDeleteVermont has already approved of the single-payer model, and it should be fully operational by 2017. I suggest that other states will quickly follow. The U.S. hates to look outside its own borders for solutions to major problems. Little Vermont will lead the way!
The whole mess got so depressing that I stopped reading about it for awhile. Now I need to get back up to speed. I am very tired of seeing the GOP trying to beat up the president and Obamacare. 2014 elections can't get here soon enough for me.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, have you seen this? Hassellbeck on Faux claims that Obamacare is making doctors drop "elderly pregnant women."
ReplyDeleteSounds like she's bent on out-doing poor Sarah.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/18/fox-news-hasselbeck-obamacare-is-hurting-many-elderly-pregnant-women/
Well, if they are elderly they would be on medicare
DeleteI so agree w/you, Lynne! I'm sick and tired and tired and sick of the attitude and actions of the Republicans since President Obama was elected and reelected!
ReplyDeleteIt's gotten old and I hope many of them are not reelected (or lose) in their upcoming elections - on all levels of our government throughout the nation!
And of course there is our asshat governor who has decided that those of us too poor to qualify for any type of subsidy, too poor to afford healthcare, and too single/old/childless to be on Medicaid aren't worthy.
ReplyDeleteRachel M had a good segment last week showing the history of the Massachusetts health care plan (aka Romneycare) roll out. After a month, less than 200 people had signed up, and there were website problems, and the law needed tweaking - but no one ever heard about the problems because there was a concerted effort to MAKE IT WORK. The website got fixed, adjustments were made to the law and now close to 98% of people in the state have health insurance. No one supported a position attempting to take down the law and deny health insurance to anyone. Imagine if we had that concept at the national level?
ReplyDeleteI simply don't believe the insurance companies would go along with a law that didn't work in their favor to begin with. I wonder about unintended consequences, consequences the insurance companies welcome.
ReplyDeleteBut then maybe I'm just cynical. Thanks to the hole the supreme court punched in the law, I qualify for nada. In Idaho, if I make $11,490 a month I can get a policy for $19.16 a month. If I make $11,489, the same policy will cost me over $400 a month. Nice setup.
Wow, your math makes no sense at all! At either monthly earnings, you should be able to afford $400/month. You may want to check your figures.
Deletethose are annual earnings, not monthly. Ans it's not my math, it's the Kaiser subsidy calculator.
DeleteIt's also helped 2 couples I know get coverage without the subsidies. Try getting insurance before jan 2014 if you are over 55 and had any type of health issue.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you don't qualify for the subsidy you an go directly to the website( or an insurance agent) of the insurance company of your choice.
Oh, sorry, I see my mistake. An edit gone wrong left "11,490 a month", which should've been 11,490 a year.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty amazing how many people qualify for subsidy and it is clear health insurance is downright expensive! My 27-year-old was paying $327 a month for a policy that would not bankrupt her if she were to have a catastrophe (reasonable deductible) and of course it didn’t include maternity. I wonder why the religious right never took the maternity omission up with insurers? You would think they would have encouraged any type of system that made it less expensive to actually carry a baby to term. I am continually gobsmacked by the insanity of the religious right faction. Affordable health care seems to me to be a very Christian concept.
ReplyDelete"I am continually gobsmacked by the insanity of the religious right faction. Affordable health care seems to me to be a very Christian concept. "
DeleteIt is. They're not.
I'm a stalwart defender of President Obama, but if this story is true, the implications are disturbing, to say the least:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/11/18/tpp_wikileaks_white_house_claims_to_support_cellphone_unlocking_but_treaty.html
I hope the Dems emphasize over and over that the GOP governors have been hiding the Medicaid eligibility for thousands long before the ACA, and now they are down right refusing it. Even the stupidest people have to understand that one. Depending on what state you live in....it is like a different country. No gay rights, no abortion clinics, voter ID, no medicaid, education cuts, no unions.....the list goes on and on. Wake up GOP lovers, you are on the losing side of history.
ReplyDeleteHey Gryph:
ReplyDeleteRachelMaddow ran a story tonight on her show about your home. You guys are GETTING SCAMMED - SOMETHING AWFUL - by your governor AND the Coke Brothers and their totally funded subsidiaries. They are running FAKE WEB SITES IN YOUR STATE about the ACA, AND there is actually a new web site up in Alaska soliciting YOUR PLEDGE AND SIGNATURE to NOT SIGN UP FOR ACA COVERAGE…. EVER… THEY WANT YOU TO PLEADE TO THE COKE BROTHERS NOT TO SIGN UP FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.
W T F !!!???!??!?
The GOP Governors who refused Medicare expansion thought it was smart to dump the job back on the government's lap, but it's clearly backfired. Yeah, it sucks that the website rollout had problems, but in a way I don't think it's hurting the law as much as the pundits and the GOP first thought. It's running better than Romneycare did in ONE state, and even they had website problems.
ReplyDeleteThe Medicaid eligibility issue was an added bonus.
Excellent post, Thanks for including that second link. It's three dimensional chess, his speech was classic Clintonesque "Triangulation". I wanted a single payer option from the beginning, and it does seem like a possibility.
It's interesting that of the 26 states that sued over the medicaid expansion, only 13 opted out. Opting out amounts to cutting off your nose to spite your face--even crazy Jan Brewer figured that one out. Stupid ass GOP governors.
DeleteIt is worth mentioning more than once how GREAT the healthcare.gov website is working in states that opted to create thier own exchanges. These exchanges are not functioning bette because they are run by STATE rather then the FEDERAL government, but because the states put the effort into working with the feds to create a program thatwould work. The red states that refused to participate thus forcing the federal government to create a system for them are the ones that we are hearing about. Selective sharing.
ReplyDelete